DOCSLIB.ORG

Wind Bell., Including One Which We Picked out for This Month's Issue in His Memory

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wind Bell., Including One Which We Picked out for This Month's Issue in His Memory PUBLICATION OF ZEN CENTER VOL. XXIX, NO. I WINTER 1995 CONTENTS News and Features Devoted to the Dharma An Interview with Yvonne Rand by Barbara Wenger, p. 10 Rebuilding the Tassajara Bathhouse, p. 18 Story of Indian Bones by Gene DeSmid l, p. 20 September Priest Ordinations, p. 24 City Center Dedicates Wh eelchair Access Ram p at Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration, p. 29 Books Emerging, p. 36 The Gift of Life, p. 40 Lectures Using Various Stones by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, p. 3 Meeting in the Heart by Furyu Nancy Schroeder, p. 30 The End of Suffering: A Christmas Koan by Abbot Tenshin Reb Anderson, p. 41 IN MEMORIAM: BOB BONI Our good friend and supporter Bob Boni died unexpectedly of a heart attack last June. Bob took many powerfully expressive photographs, which he good­ heartedly shared with Zen Center, including the well-known photo of Suzuki Roshi which is on the back of Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind. His photos have often graced the cover of the Wind Bell., including one which we picked out for this month's issue in his memory. Those of us who worked with him remember Bob's warm-hearted and compas­ sionate nature and his easy generosity with his time, facilities, and photographs in helping Zen Center and Zen Center's editors and photographers. Out of his love for Suzuki Roshi and Zen practice he offered whatever resources he could to benefiting other beings without seeking recognition. Through his photographs we continue to be touched by what touched him. We extend our bow1dless gratitude to Bob, and also our kind sympathies to his widow Caterina, and to their children and grandchildren. Caterina expressed that she would welcome calls or visits from anyone at Zen Center. -1' ·. USING VARIO US STONES Shunryu Suzuki Roshi Tonight I want to give you what I feel is a correct understanding of Buddhism or Zen. In a word, Zen is the teaching or practice of seeing things as it is, 1 or accepting tirings as it is, and of raising things as they grow. This is the fundamen­ tal purpose of our practice and the meaning of Zen. But it is, actually, difficult to see things as it is. You may say you are seeing things as it is, but actually you do not see things as it is. I don't mean that it is a distortion of sight, such as when something of one shape looks shorter than something of another shape. I mean that as soon as you see something, you already start to intellectualize it. As soon as you intellectualize something, it is already not just what you saw. When I was young, I wanted to practice true practice, and I wanted to know what the way-seeking mind is in its true sense. I thought that to do something 1 Suzuki Roshi uses the term "things as it is" in the same way that Master Joshu uses the terms "mu" and "u" (non-existence and existence) to mean absolute existence before the division of seamless reality into existent and non-existent. 3 Stone steps leadingfrom Cabarga Creek to Suzuki Roshi's rock garden at Tassajara good might be the way-seeking mind, so I got up very early and washed the toilet and sink before the others got up. I thought that would be a very good thing to do. But while I was doing this, I was afraid someone would see me. I wanted to do it jusl by myself without being noticed by anyone else. "Ifsomeone sees me, that will not be pure practice:' I thought. But, before they saw me, I was already going wrong in my mind. I asked myself whether I liked doing it without being noticed by anyone, or whether I wanted it to be known by someone else. "Why am I doing something like this?" So, in a way, I couldn't accept my way-seeking mind. I was not so sure of the purity of my way-seeking mind. When I saw a lamp lit in one of the rooms, I hid myself. I thought that someone had gotten up already and might come down. It seemed as though I was at least trying to do something good with a pure mind. But my mind was no· so pure. 4 My mind was wandering about. I couldn't make my mind pure, and I was at a loss for what to do. I suffered a little bit, and I thought and thought and thought about what I should do. One day when I was listening to a psychology lecture, the teacher said, "It is impossible to catch our mind exactly. It is especially impossible to know exactly what we have done. The mind which acted some time ago, the mind which belongs to the past, is impossible to catch. And even the mind which is acting right now is impossible to catch:' So I tl1ought, "No wonder it is so difficult for me to understand my mind;' and I gave up trying to be sure of my way-seeking mind. Since then I have done things without thinking that I did them just because they were good. And, at the same time, whether or not people saw me was not my problem anymore. So when you want to see, or be sure of your mind, you should realize that you cannot catch it. But when you just do something, and your mind is acting as it is, that is how you catch your mind in the true sense. Anyway, it is rather difficult to see things as it is because seeing things as it is is not the activity of our sight or eyes. This is why we put emphasis on practice. To do something without think­ ing is the most important point in understanding ourselves. Since it is difficult to see things as it is, we should just practice our way. People may say, "If the purpose of Zen is to see things as it is, then there is no need to practice." That is the big problem. I think that in your everyday life your root practice may be to raise flowers or to grow things in your garden. That is, I tl1ink, the best practice. When you sow a seed, you have to wait for the seed to come up. And if it comes up, you have to take care of it. That is our practice. Just to sow a seed is not enough. To take care of it day after day is very important for the good gardener. When you build a house, your work is finished. If someone has written a book, that is enough. But for a gardener, it is necessary to take care of the garden every day. Even though you have finished making that garden, it is necessary to take care of it. So I think our way is nearly the same as making your own garden, or raising some vegetables or flowers. Each seed, or each plant, has its own character and its own color. Ifit is a stone garden, each stone has its own character. A long stone has a solemn, profound feeling; a round one expresses perfection; a square one expresses some rigidness or feeling of austerity. Ifit has moss on it, it has some deep, profound, mystical spirit to it. Those are tl1e individual characteristics of each thing you use in your garden. People may say, "Whatever we do, that is zen;' or "I am seeing things as it is." They usually see things one by one, but that is not enough. You may say you see things as it is, but you are just seeing each object and each object's characteristics. 5 It is necessary for a gardener to make his garden beautiful If possible, the gardener should express some meaning, or some particular beauty, according to some order. Ifso meone wants the gardener to build a calm garden, the gardener must make the garden accordingly. Ifhe wants a solemn or austere feeling, the gardener makes the garden austere. The gardener has to choose the material and make it austere by contrast, or by association, or by harmony. If there is a sharp, straight, narrow stone, it expresses some mystical feeling. If the stone is this way [making a shape with his hands], it expresses calmness or peacefulness. And these two shapes are in contrast. But a round stone \Vill be harmonious with every other stone. It goes perfectly with any kind of form. A stone which has a wide base expresses a stable feeling. This stone is in contrast with a massive stone, and a long, upright stone and a massive stone are in order. You cannot make a beautiful garden if you just arrange the stones in order. So you should use some stones which are in contrast with the stones you're using. The way to create harmony is to have some rules. We may have many colors, and they may be in harmony or contrast. If you arrange the six colors in order, starting from red, and going to orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, that is the color order. If you use red and yellow together, that is harmony. And ifyo u use red and green, that is contrast. By following those rules, you will accomplish your purpose, and you will have a beautiful garden. So just living however you like is not the way. If you want to live the way, you should follow some rules.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Buddhism in America
    Buddhism in America The Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series The United States is the birthplace of religious pluralism, and the spiritual landscape of contemporary America is as varied and complex as that of any country in the world. The books in this new series, written by leading scholars for students and general readers alike, fall into two categories: some of these well-crafted, thought-provoking portraits of the country’s major religious groups describe and explain particular religious practices and rituals, beliefs, and major challenges facing a given community today. Others explore current themes and topics in American religion that cut across denominational lines. The texts are supplemented with care- fully selected photographs and artwork, annotated bibliographies, con- cise profiles of important individuals, and chronologies of major events. — Roman Catholicism in America Islam in America . B UDDHISM in America Richard Hughes Seager C C Publishers Since New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seager, Richard Hughes. Buddhism in America / Richard Hughes Seager. p. cm. — (Columbia contemporary American religion series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN ‒‒‒ — ISBN ‒‒‒ (pbk.) . Buddhism—United States. I. Title. II. Series. BQ.S .'—dc – Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
    [Show full text]
  • PUBLICATION of SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER Vol. XXXVI No. 1 Spring I Summer 2002 CONTENTS
    PUBLICATION OF SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER Vol. XXXVI No. 1 Spring I Summer 2002 CONTENTS TALKS 3 The Gift of Zazen BY Shunryu Suzuki-roshi 16 Practice On and Off the Cushion BY Anna Thom 20 The World Is Vast and Wide BY Gretel Ehrlich 36 An Appropriate Response BY Abbess Linda Ruth Cutts POETRY AND ART 4 Kannon in Waves BY Dan Welch (See also front cover and pages 9 and 46) 5 Like Water BY Sojun Mel Weitsman 24 Study Hall BY Zenshin Philip Whalen NEWS AND FEATURES 8 orman Fischer Revisited AN INTERVIEW 11 An Interview with Annie Somerville, Executive Chef of Greens 25 Projections on an Empty Screen BY Michael Wenger 27 Sangha-e! 28 Through a Glass, Darkly BY Alan Senauke 42 'Treasurer's Report on Fiscal Year 2002 DY Kokai Roberts 2 covet WNO eru 111 -ASSl\ll\tll.,,. o..N WEICH The Gi~ of Zazen Shunryu Suzuki Roshi December 14, 1967-Los Altos, California JAM STILL STUDYING to find out what our way is. Recently I reached the conclusion that there is no Buddhism or Zen or anythjng. When I was preparing for the evening lecture in San Francisco yesterday, I tried to find something to talk about, but I couldn't; then I thought of the story 1 was told in Obun Festival when I was young. The story is about water and the people in Hell Although they have water, the people in hell cannot drink it because the water burns like fire or it looks like blood, so they cannot drink it.
    [Show full text]
  • New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice Courtney M
    Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 2011 New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice Courtney M. Just Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI11120903 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Just, Courtney M., "New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice" (2011). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 527. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/527 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida NEW AMERICAN ZEN: EXAMINING AMERICAN WOMEN’S ADAPTATION OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE SOTO ZEN PRACTICE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in LIBERAL STUDIES by Courtney Just 2011 To: Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Courtney Just, and entitled New American Zen: Examining American Women’s Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Laurie Shrage ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Kiriake Xerohemona ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Lesley A. Northup, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 10, 2011 The thesis of Courtney Just is approved. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Science ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dean Lakshmi N.
    [Show full text]
  • A Short Talk During Zazen
    A Short Talk During Zazen Shunryu Suzuki Roshi (Presented during zazen on the moming of June 28, 1970, between the tenth and eleventh Sandokai lectures) YouSHOULD SIT WITH YOUR WHOLE BODY: your spine, mouth, toes, mudra. l Check on your posture during zazen. Each part of your body should practice zazen independently or separately: Your toes should prac­ tice zazen independently, your mudra should practice zazen independently, and your spine and your mouth should practice zazen independently. You should feel each part of your body doing zazen independently. Each part of your body should participate completely in zazen. Check to see that each part of your body is doing zazen independently- this is also known as shiknntaza. To think, "I am doing zazen" or "my body is doing zazen" is wrong understanding. It is a self-centered idea. The mudra is especially important. You should not feel as if you are resting your mudra on the heel of your foot for your own convenience. Your mudra should be placed in its own position. Don't move your legs for your own convenience. Your legs are practic­ ing their own zazen independently and are com pletely involved in their own pain. They are doing zazen through pain. You should all ow them to practice their own zazen. If you think you are practicing zazen, you are involved in some selfish, egotistical idea. If you think that you have a difficulty in some part of your body, then the rest of the body should help the part that is in difficulty. You are not having difficulty with some part of your body, but the part of the body is having difficulty: for example, your mudra is having difficulty.
    [Show full text]
  • Wind Bell He Spent Time with Suzuki-Roshi Gathering Material for a Wind Bell About His Life and Practice in Japan As a Boy and a Man Before Coming Co America
    4, .. ,_ PURLICATl0"4 Of· Zf 'Cl.N f ER VO LU~IE XI. 1972 Ocean Wind Zendo Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate! Bodhi! Svaha! Go,ne, gone, gone beyond, beyond beyond! Bodhi! Svaha! ' 3 Our teacher is gone. Nothing can express our feeling for Suzuki-roshi except the complete continuation of his teaching. We continue his existence. in the light of his mind and spirit as our own and Buddha's mind and spirit. He made clear that the Other Shore is here. This time includes past, present and future, our existence, his existence, Buddha's time. It was and is true for Suzuki-roshi. We are him and he is us. He expressed this in teaching us by going away. Gone, gone co the Other Shore! Beyond the Other Shore! Bodhil Svaha! Cyate gyate hara gyate liara so gyate! Boji! Sowaka! 4 JN A LEITER that went out to some of you from Yvonne Rand, President of Zen Center, she wrote: "Suzuki-roshi died early in the morning, Saturday, December 4, 1971 just after the sounding of the opening bell of the five-day sesshin commemorating Buddha's Enlightenment. He left us very gently and calmly. And he left Zen Center very carefully, teaching us in everything he did. There is almost no sense of his being gone, for he continues to live clearly in the practice and community that were his life work. His last appearance in public was on November 21 at the ceremony to install Richard Baker-roshi as his successor, according to his long-standing plan.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Shunryu Suzuki Sojun Mel Weitsman
    Introduction Shunryu Suzuki Sojun Mel Weitsman INTHE SUMMER OF 1970 Suzuki Roshi gave these talks on the Sandokai of Sekito Kisen. BRANCHING Suzuki Roshi had come to America in 1959, leaving Rinso-in, his tem­ STREAMS ple in Yaizu, Japan, to serve as FLOW IN THE priest for the Japanese-American congregation at Sokoji temple at DARKNESS 1881 Bush Street in San Francisco. During those years a large number of people came to practice with him, and San Francisco Zen Center Zen Talks on the Sandokai was born. Suzuki Roshi became By tht author of Z~n Mind. Beginne~s Mind surrounded by so many enthusias- tic American Zen students that in 1969 he and his students moved to a large building at 300 Page Street and established Beginner's Mind Temple. Two years earlier, Zen Center had acquired the Tassajara resort and hot springs, which is at the end of a four­ teen-mile dirt road that winds through the rugged mountains of the Los Padres National Forest near the central coast of California. He and his stu­ dents created the first Zen Buddhist monastery in America, Zenshinji (Zen Mind/Heart Te mple). We were starting from scratch under Suzuki Roshi's guidance. Each year Tassajara Zen Mountain Center has two intensive practice­ period retreats: October through December, and January through March. These two practice periods include many hours of zazen (cross-legged seated meditation) each day, lectures, study, and physical work. The students are there for the entire time. In the spring and summer months (May through August), Tassajara provides a guest season for people who are attracted by the hot mineral baths and the quiet atmosphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Program Guide
    IBFF NO1 NOVEMBER 20–23, 2003 LOS ANGELES WWW.IBFF.ORG INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST FILM FESTIVAL Debra Bloomfield Jerry Burchard John Paul Caponigro Simon Chaput Mark Citret Linda Connor Lynn Davis Peter deLory Don Farber Richard Gere Susannah Hays Jim Henkel Lena Herzog Kenro Izu REFLECTING BUDDHA: Michael Kenna IMAGES BY Heather Kessinger Hirokazu Kosaka CONTEMPORARY Alan Kozlowski PHOTOGRAPHERS Wayne Levin Stu Levy NOVEMBER 14–23 David Liittschwager Elaine Ling Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the International Buddhist Film Festival John Daido Loori Book Signings by Participating Photographers Yasuaki Matsumoto Throughout the Exhibition Steve McCurry Curated by Linda Connor Pasadena Museum of California Art Susan Middleton 490 East Union Street, Pasadena, California Charles Reilly Third Floor Exhibition Space Open Wed. to Sun. 10 am to 5 pm, Fri. to 8 pm David Samuel Robbins www.pmcaonline.org 626.568.3665 Stuart Rome Meridel Rubenstein Larry Snider 2003 pigment print © Linda Connor, Ladakh, India digital archival Nubra Valley, Camille Solyagua John Willis The Dalai Lama’s Rainbow The Dalai Lama’s NOV 20–23 at LACMA www.ibff.org Alison Wright image: Welcome to the first International Buddhist Film Festival. The Buddhist understanding that what we experience is projection, is cinema in the most profound sense. In the sixth century BC, Prince Siddhartha, the future Buddha, was challenged by personal and political upheaval, and he heroically strove to find a meaningful way of living. Waking up and paying attention, he discovered a path of spiritual transformation. The seeds of this breakthrough have continued to flower through 2,500 years. A new wave of contemporary cinema is emerging to embrace all the strands of Buddhism—directly, obliquely, reverently, critically, and comedically too.
    [Show full text]
  • BEYOND THINKING a Guide to Zen Meditation
    ABOUT THE BOOK Spiritual practice is not some kind of striving to produce enlightenment, but an expression of the enlightenment already inherent in all things: Such is the Zen teaching of Dogen Zenji (1200–1253) whose profound writings have been studied and revered for more than seven hundred years, influencing practitioners far beyond his native Japan and the Soto school he is credited with founding. In focusing on Dogen’s most practical words of instruction and encouragement for Zen students, this new collection highlights the timelessness of his teaching and shows it to be as applicable to anyone today as it was in the great teacher’s own time. Selections include Dogen’s famous meditation instructions; his advice on the practice of zazen, or sitting meditation; guidelines for community life; and some of his most inspirational talks. Also included are a bibliography and an extensive glossary. DOGEN (1200–1253) is known as the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen sect. Sign up to learn more about our books and receive special offers from Shambhala Publications. Or visit us online to sign up at shambhala.com/eshambhala. Translators Reb Anderson Edward Brown Norman Fischer Blanche Hartman Taigen Dan Leighton Alan Senauke Kazuaki Tanahashi Katherine Thanas Mel Weitsman Dan Welch Michael Wenger Contributing Translator Philip Whalen BEYOND THINKING A Guide to Zen Meditation Zen Master Dogen Edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi Introduction by Norman Fischer SHAMBHALA Boston & London 2012 SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC. Horticultural Hall 300 Massachusetts Avenue
    [Show full text]
  • Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha Continued from Previous Page It Was Needed, Each One Doing a Little Bit More Voices to Bring the Garden to Life
    Berkeley Zen Center August 2007 Newsletter Enlightenment, Faith, BZC Schedule and Practice August Sojun Talk, Sept. 30, 1995 Founder’s Ceremony oday I want to talk about faith and devo- Thursday, 8-2, 6:20 pm tion in Zen practice. Actually, I want to talk Friday, 8-3 , 6:40 am TTabout faith, enlightenment and practice, Half-Day Sitting because all three are necessary, and you might Sunday, 8-5 say that these are the three legs of Zen practice. Work Sesshin Day Actually, practice is devotion and faith is enlight- Sunday, 8-12 enment. When people think about Zen, what Kidzendo comes to mind is enlightenment as the main Saturday, 8-18 feature. But actually, faith is the foundation, and Bodhisattva Ceremony Saturday, 8-25, 9:30 am faith and enlightenment are inseparable. In all schools of Buddhism faith is an indispensable September factor, and Zen is just Buddhism. Two-Day Study Sitting Sometimes people think that Zen is something Saturday & Sunday, 9-1 & 9-2 a little to the side of Buddhism, but actually, Zen Founders Ceremony is what we call Buddha's practice. And when you Tuesday, 9-4, 6:20 pm practice, you are Buddha. So it's your practice, Wednesday, 9-5, 6:40 am and at the same time it's Buddha's practice. Kidzendo When you are completely engaged in practice, Saturday, 9-15 it's Buddha's practice. When you sit zazen, Half-Day Sitting Buddha is sitting zazen. Sunday, 9-16 The fundamental premise of our school is that Women’s Sitting ordinary beings and Buddha are not two.
    [Show full text]
  • To Meet the Real Dragon
    To Meet the Real Dragon 0956299903, 9780956299901 / 2009 / Dogen Sangha Publications, 2009 / To Meet the Real Dragon / 246 pages / Gudo Nishijima, Jeffrey Bailey / Buddhist masters of the past have explained the relationship between Buddhist theory and the Truth by way of a simple metaphor. The Truth, they say, is like the distant moon. Ideas, theories, and explanations are merely fingers pointing at that far-away goal. They are not, and can never be, the moon itself. So this book is one such finger, a finger pointing at the moon, but the moon itself can be touched by you alone... The Buddhism which emerges from To Meet the Real Dragon is Buddhism for real people: ordinary human beings with ordinary human problems. It is humanistic Zen--Zen for human beings. Here are a few of the topics covered by this very readable book: What is Religion, Meeting a True Master, Master Dogen, Science and Buddhism, Idealism and Materialism, Gautama Buddha, The Four Noble Truths, The Transmission of the Truth, Cause and Effect, Not Doing Wrong, Action: The Center of Buddhism, Zazen, The Four Philosophies. file download fone.pdf 356 pages / 1985 / Moon in a Dewdrop / Eihei Dogen, Kazuaki Tanahashi / Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), among the first to transmit Zen Buddhism from China to Japan and founder of the important Soto School, was not only a profoundly influential and / Philosophy / Writings of Zen Master Dogen / ISBN:086547186X Philosophy / ISBN:0520219821 / Oct 31, 1999 / Zen Talks on the Sandokai / Shunryu Suzuki, Mel Weitsman, Michael Wenger / A new book
    [Show full text]
  • Kindness and Compassion Practice in Buddhist and Secular Contexts
    Confluence: Adoption and Adaptation of Loving- Kindness and Compassion Practice in Buddhist and Secular Contexts Dawn P. Neal Graduate Student Graduate Theological Union 法鼓佛學學報第 16 期 頁 95-121（民國 104 年），新北市：法鼓文理學院 Dharma Drum Journal of Buddhist Studies, no. 16, pp. 95-121 (2015) New Taipei City: Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts ISSN: 1996-8000 Abstract Contemporary Buddhists are adapting loving-kindness and compassion praxis. Using three vignettes, the author explores how the distinct practices of loving-kindness and compassion are being appropriated and altered both in Buddhist religious traditions, and in secular environments. This discussion examines the adaptation process from two perspectives. First, this article explores how three teachers, North American, Taiwanese, and Tibetan-North American respectively, adapt loving-kindness and compassion practices, and what purposes these adaptations serve in their contexts. Second, the author highlights some textual sources the teachers use when adapting or secularizing loving-kindness and compassion practices. Primary focus is on the Mettā Sutta and the Visuddhimagga, perhaps the most influential Theravāda compendium in contemporary Buddhism. The phrases and categories of loving-kindness praxis in the Visuddhimagga now appear nearly verbatim in teachings of secular compassion practice. This cross-fertilization occurs directly between Buddhist traditions as well. In the American example of Sojun Mel Weitsman, a foundational influence on modern Sōtō Zen Buddhism as developed at the Berkeley and San Francisco Zen centers, Weitsman presents his adaptation of the Mettā Sutta in response to his community’s request for greater address given to love and compassion. In Taiwan, Ven. Bhikṣuṇī Zinai of the eclectically influenced Luminary International Buddhist Society incorporates adaptation of both the Visuddhimagga and Mettā Sutta in a secular Compassionate Prenatal Education program, which addresses the needs of expectant mothers using loving-kindness practice.
    [Show full text]
  • A Eido Tai Shimano Roshi This Is an Open Letter to Eido Tai Shimano Roshi
    mat a Eido Tai Shimano Roshi This is an open letter to Eido Tai Shimano Roshi: Dear Tai San, There are many reports of your abuse of women published on the web which indicate that you have been involved in breaking the precepts over a period of more than 40 years. I would like to urge you to come forth and make a statement in response to these accusations. Sincerely yours, Robert Aitken 1 Posted by tom8 at 9:32 PA4 1-B 1 i ! 362 comments: ! 2 genkaku said... I for one would like to support this suggestion. With mixed emotions, I have been complicit in this effort (http://genkaku-again.blogspot.com/2010/02/eido-tai- shimano.html) and readily acknowledge the icky and somewhat off-topic nature of the revelations so inescapably woven into a Zen practice beloved by many. But I think that a Zen practice without honesty is like a car without tires ... it ain't goin' nowhere, no matter how shiny it looks. May 21, 2010 7:38 AM Tai said... I'm sorry, Goddammit! It was all that breath counting, it drove me nuts. Cordially yours, TS. May 21, 2010 5:32 PM Mary / GoodlifeZEN said... Wow! It's a big step to challenge a colleague publicly, Roshi. Well, I think on the whole it's good to bring the issue of Zen teachers abusing students out into the open. I'm slow to rise to anger, but when senior students of disgraced teachers tell me that what their teacher did to female students was actually a "teaching that the unenlightened women somehow didn't understand", I tend to give them an tongue lashing they don't easily forget ..
    [Show full text]